2021-2022 Catalog

Japanese Studies

Overview

Japanese is housed in the Comparative Studies in Literature and Culture (CSLC) department. Besides serving as one possible area emphasis within the CSLC major, Japanese also offers a stand-alone major. The Japanese Studies major is intended for students primarily interested in Japanese language, literature, and culture. The major aims to help students attain a high degree of fluency, and much of the coursework is done in Japanese. The language is a vital component not only of CSLC, but all studies related to East Asia. The faculty of Japanese is additionally affiliated with the East Asian Studies program and major, and serves these accordingly in an advisory capacity. 

Major Requirements

COURSEWORK

 

Language Component:

Five courses total

JAPN 202Intermediate Japanese II

5 units

 

And four from:

JAPN 301Advanced Japanese I

4 units

JAPN 302Advanced Japanese II

4 units

JAPN 340Language in News Media and Advertising

4 units

JAPN 350Tales of the Supernatural

4 units

JAPN 460Translating Texts

4 units

One literature in translation course:

JAPN 271Fiction in Japanese Literature and Film

4 units

JAPN 273Popular Culture and Literary Traditions of Tokugawa Japan

4 units

One methods or theory course:

CSLC 200Literature, Culture, Self: Being in the Wor(l)d

4 units

CSLC 201Forms of Feeling, and a Feeling for Form: Literature and Its Lifeworlds

4 units

ENGL 290Introduction to Literary Methods

4 units

ENGL 370Literary Criticism

4 units

JAPN 271Fiction in Japanese Literature and Film

4 units

JAPN 273Popular Culture and Literary Traditions of Tokugawa Japan

4 units

JAPN 460Translating Texts

4 units

LING 301Introduction to Linguistics

4 units

Three additional Japan-related courses:

AMST 270Asian American Literature

4 units

AMST 272/EASN 272Asian Immigrants in American Society

4 units

AMST 280/DWA 246The United States and East Asia

4 units

ARTH 160Introduction to East Asian Art

4 units

ARTH 266The Arts of Japan

4 units

ARTH 368Japanese Painting

4 units

HIST 141East Asian Survey

4 units

HIST 248Modern Japan

4 units

POLS 227East Asian Politics: China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

4 units

RELS 160How to Live and Die Well in Buddhist Traditions

4 units

RELS 215Shamans, Sages, and Spirits in East Asia

4 units

RELS 266Sexuality and Gender in Buddhism

4 units

RELS 276Empire and Religion in Asia and the Pacific

4 units

Second-Stage Writing Requirement

This requirement is fulfilled through either a seminar course (JAPN 271 or JAPN 273) or a 2-unit Independent Study in the fall semester of the senior year, in which the student will produce: either (1) a 20-page paper written in English on Japanese language or literature, including source texts written in Japanese; or (2) an annotated translation, with commentary, of a Japanese language text into English. In the spring semester, the student will make any required revisions and prepare an oral presentation to be given in Japanese.

Comprehensive Requirement

Students will fulfill this requirement by completing a seminar course or a 2-unit Independent Study in the fall semester of the senior year, in which the student will produce a 20-page paper written in English on China, Japan, or an East Asian comparative/transnational topic; in the spring semester, the student will make any required revisions and prepare an oral presentation to be given in English.

College Honors

Students with an overall GPA of 3.25 and a major GPA of 3.50 may submit an honors research proposal at the end of the fall semester of the senior year. If the proposal is supported by two faculty advisers, the student will enroll in a 2-unit Independent Study in the spring to expand the fall semester senior comprehensive paper into a distinguished 40-page paper.

Minor Requirements

Five courses (20 units) numbered JAPN 202 and above. LING 301 may fulfill one of these course requirements. Three of the five courses must be completed as Occidental courses (one of the three MUST be taken at the Eagle Rock campus. The other two may be taken at an Occidental-in-Japan campus).

Transfer Credit Policies

The Japanese Studies Program policy on transfer credit conforms to College policy (with the additional restrictions noted for the minor above). Students who earn a score of 4 on the AP Japanese Language examination will earn four units of credit and be placed into JAPN 201 while those who earn a score of 5 will earn four units of credit and be placed into JAPN 202. The department does not place students based on IB or A-level examinations.

Students should reference the Transfer Credit section for more details.

Courses

Japanese Courses

Faculty

Regular Faculty

Damian Stocking, chair (fall)
Associate Professor
B.A., University of California, Berkeley; M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles

Susan Grayson, chair (spring)
Professor, Spanish and French Studies; Advisory Committee, Group Language
A.B., M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles; Ph.D., Wright Institute Los Angeles Attestation d’études, Université de Bordeaux

On Special Appointment

Yuki Taylor

Non-Tenure Track Associate Professor

B.A., M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles